USA vs Great Britain: What to Expect from Americans in Olympic Warmup

Team USA may be the gold medal favorites in the 2012 Summer Olympics, but buffing out the rough spots during these exhibitions games is needed to sweep through London.

The previous game against Brazil did exploit the American's early on too because the U.S. was down 27-17 after the first quarter. Heading into the next Olympic warmup versus Great Britain, and it's easy to suspect a stronger beginning.

Well with that said, let's take a gander at what we can expect from the U.S. as the London Games are almost a week away.

Game Info: July 19, 7:10pm BST (British Summer Time zone) on ESPN 2 courtesy of USA Basketball. Note: BST is five hours ahead of EST.

Better Movement On and Off the Ball

With only 11 total assists against Brazil, the United States scored just 80 points and shot worse from the field and at the line.

Although the U.S. came out with victories, they need to improve at moving the ball. Doing so will allow for better movement away from the ball and set up more favorable scoring opportunities. Great Britain doesn't present a suffocating defense and is at a size disadvantage as well.

As long as Team USA keeps moving with and without the ball, the British won't keep up. They aren't as strong inside and lack the rebounding to prevent second-chance scoring opportunities. These, then, are just more chances for the U.S. to build synergy for making the most out of each additional possession.

Lockdown Defense

Luol Deng is easily the best player for the British, while guard Kyle Johnson has the ability to knock down from almost anywhere. So, from the opening tip expect Britain to come out with a fast pace, as they did against Portugal and France earlier this month.

For the U.S., on top of a slow offensive start against Brazil they failed to play stellar defense in the beginning as well. Fortunately the Americans dominated after the first quarter, but that early vulnerability will now be continually tested from any opponent.

Here, Team USA will simply need to isolate Deng and force Johnson to carry the load. Deng has the ability to score, rebound and dish the rock, so limiting his impact provides an advantage. In turn, this helps the U.S. for later games defensively because it allows significant control of the game tempo.

Overall Talent of Rotation

Great Britain hasn't qualified for the Summer Olympics in men's basketball since 1948 and are 2-7 heading into the pre-Olympic match versus the U.S.

Therefore, it's difficult to believe that the Americans will play the starters for most of the contest. So, expect Team USA's rotational player to receive more floor time. Guys like Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love and James Harden have the talent to start on most teams, so we'll get to see how each fares against the best from Britain.

And it's important for the U.S.'s bench players to perform well, as reliable depth prevents the team from hitting a lull with the starters resting. Now, despite Britain not expecting to be much of a challenge compared to Spain or Argentina, allowing the bench players to find a rhythm is necessary to winning gold.

Regardless of whom Britain puts on the court when the U.S. goes to rotate, Westbrook must dish the rock around, Love has to rebound well and Harden must drain from the perimeter. The game plan can't change for the U.S., but the bench has to remain efficient no matter how much each contributes.

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